![]() ![]() Each cycle contains the same pattern of days of the week and therefore the same pattern of Fridays that are on the 13th. Statistically speaking, driving is slightly safer on Friday the 13th, at least in the Netherlands in the last two years, Dutch insurers received reports of an average 7,800 traffic accidents each Friday but the average figure when the 13th fell on a Friday was just 7,500." Occurrence DistributionĮach 400 year Gregorian solar cycle contains 146,097 days (with 97 leap days) or exactly 20,871 weeks. On 12 June 2008 the Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics stated to the contrary, that "fewer accidents and reports of fire and theft occur when the 13th of the month falls on a Friday than on other Fridays, because people are preventatively more careful or just stay home. Subsequent studies have disproved any correlation between Friday the 13th and the rate of accidents. However, the authors clearly state that "the numbers of admissions from accidents are too small to allow meaningful analysis". Rate of accidentsĪ study by Scanlon, Luben, Scanlon, & Singleton (1993) Īttracted attention from popular science literature, Īs it concluded that "the risk of hospital admission as a result of a transport accident may be increased by as much as 52 percent on the 13th" : ? The event is coordinated by the Finnish Red Cross and has been held since 1995. In Finland, a consortium of governmental and nongovernmental organizations led by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health promotes the National Accident Day ( kansallinen tapaturmapäivä) to raise awareness about automotive safety, which always falls on a Friday the 13th. ĭespite this, representatives for both Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines (the latter now merged into United Airlines) have stated that their airlines do not suffer from any noticeable drop in travel on those Fridays. "It's been estimated that US$800–900 million is lost in business on this day". Some people are so paralyzed by fear that they avoid their normal routines in doing business, taking flights or even getting out of bed. The 2000 parody film Shriek if You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth was released in Italy with the title Shriek – Hai impegni per venerdì 17? (" Shriek – Do You Have Something to Do on Friday the 17th?").įriday the 17th occurs on a month starting on Wednesday.Īccording to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina, an estimated 17–21 million people in the United States are affected by a fear of this day, making it the most feared day and date in history. However, due to Americanization, young people consider Friday the 13th unlucky as well. In fact, in Italy, 13 is generally considered a lucky number. By shuffling the digits of the number one can easily get the word VIXI ("I have lived", implying death at present), an omen of bad luck. The origin of this belief could be traced in the writing of the number 17, in Roman numerals: XVII. In Italian popular culture, Friday the 17th (and not the 13th) is considered a bad luck day. Tuesday the 13th occurs in a month that begins on a Thursday. In addition, in Greek the name of the day is Triti ( Τρίτη) meaning the third (day of the week), adding weight to the superstition, since bad luck is said to "come in threes". The fall of Constantinople to the Fourth Crusade occurred on Tuesday 13 April 1204, and the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans happened on Tuesday 29 May 1453, events that strengthen the superstition about Tuesday. Tuesday is considered dominated by the influence of Ares, the god of war (or Mars, the Roman equivalent). The Greeks also consider Tuesday (and especially the 13th) an unlucky day. In Spanish-speaking countries, instead of Friday, Tuesday the 13th ( martes trece) is considered a day of bad luck. Tuesday the 13th in Hispanic and Greek culture Similar dates are prevalent in many cultures, although it is unclear whether these similarities are in any way historically connected or only coincidental. In the novel, an unscrupulous broker takes advantage of the superstition to create a Wall Street panic on a Friday the 13th. Lawson's popular novel Friday, the Thirteenth, Ĭontributed to popularizing the superstition. It is possible that the publication in 1907 of T. ![]() ![]() " was surrounded to the last by admiring friends and if it be true that, like so many Italians, he regarded Fridays as an unlucky day and thirteen as an unlucky number, it is remarkable that on Friday 13th of November he passed away." Dissemination Edwards' biography of Gioachino Rossini, who died on a Friday 13th: An early documented reference in English occurs in H. ![]()
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